Mitsu of the Leaf
by KaaShiro
Summary: Naruto x Fairy Tail - AU. Mitsu of the Leaf is a distinguished ANBU legend. Her origins are unknown, yet she manages to tame even the most stubborn members of the Konohagukare citizens. Brought up by Fugaku Uchiha, she is infamous for her unique starlight chakra, her life revolves around her 3 stars and the village, not knowing what her past has dictated for her future.
1. Chapter 1

**Part One**

* * *

Kakashi was surprised when the ANBU operative that landed on the tree bark behind Minato arrived, he hadn't even sensed their presence or their scent. Whoever it was, was very small. He couldn't tell who the operative was as they were wearing a mask. Minato was surprised,

"Danzo sent you? Aren't you are a bit young?"

The operative shrugged not saying a word, instead, they followed Minato's orders, he was still a bit unsure of how well this operative could do their job but decided to put his trust in what Danzo thought was best. They barely saw the ANBU operative, whoever it was, was incredibly stealthy, it was as if they weren't even there. Kakashi and Rin were cornered by the enemy, Kakashi's chakra levels near its end even then he powered up his sword, it crackled menacingly. As the enemy began their attack and Minato was nowhere to be seen, a flutter occurred, all Kakashi and Rin could do were, stare. The operative landed deftly in front of them, a three-way mark and it was as if starlight had attacked, they could barely see as the operative singlehandedly took down the enemy, wherever they moved they were followed by three bursts of light, three stars. It was stunning. Neither had ever seen anything like it. Minato arrived and was equally in shock, the operative had completed their job and flipped up on to a branch watching them below and waiting for an answer, the stars diminishing as they powered down.

"Mitsu," Minato realized, "You are Mitsu?"

The operative nodded, again not speaking, "I didn't realize Mitsu was so young. But I guess the rumors of your skills are not wrong. Thank you."

"You're awesome," Rin said brightly, putting her hands together in awe of the shinobi that had saved them.

Obito who had arrived behind Minato sniggered, "She's not that cool," he winced as a twig hit him on the head with a flash of light, "Oww."

Kakashi glanced at Obito, "You know who this is?"

Before Obito could open his mouth to answer he was beside the ANBU operative on the bark his mouth covered by their hand, "What part of wearing a mask and having a codename do you not understand?"

It was clear from her voice, that she was a girl, a young girl who was well in tune with Obito Uchiha, Minato laughed as Obito struggled, "What? We are all colleagues here!"

"Yeah, well unlike some I take my job seriously," she snapped at him, then dropped him from the tree making him land badly on the ground,

"Hey, you are supposed to respect me, I am older than you!"

She performed a quick hand sign, one that Kakashi recognized, it was a seal and suddenly Obito's mouth was sealed shut he cried out trying to break it but couldn't, "I will be on the lookout, you all should probably head back to the village."

Minato agreed, he glanced at Obito, "How long are you going to leave him sealed?"

"As long as it takes for him to learn his lesson," she answered and then disappeared. Obito hurried to Minato pleading him to remove the seal but Minato smiled sadly ruffling Obito's hair, "Sorry, kiddo. That's a seal only the caster can remove, your friend is definitely a skilled shinobi."

"One you probably should learn not to piss off," Kakashi added.

Obito glowered at Kakashi, his hatred for him growing.

They arrived safely in the village, no sign of the mysterious Mitsu who had not returned to them the whole time. Minato was slightly worried but before he could say a word Obito's seal came off, "It's okay Minato Sensei, she'll be fine, she's probably back home eating dinner by now."

"Home?" Rin picked up Obito's wording.

He grinned, "Sorry, I'm not going to say anything, it's my secret now!" He ran off to the Uchiha Quarters as they were dismissed by Minato, he himself was more and more curious about this little ANBU operative, an operative who already had a presence on the battlefield, and who by Obito's earlier admission was younger than him. The only young genius ninja he knew about was Kakashi, this girl she was definitely a genius, the way she handled her chakra, calculated the dangers and effectively completed her task, she moved as if she had years of experience.

He sat having tea with the 3rd Hokage, who smiled a little sadly, "Ah so you met Mitsu. I keep telling Danzo he needs to stop sending her on missions."

"Why?" Minato asked, "She is very talented."

"She is, but she is also very young."

"Why would Lord Danzo send her if you have advised against it?"

Hiruzen sighed, "Mitsu interests him. You know how he feels about the Uchiha."

"She is an Uchiha?" Minato was surprised for a moment then sighed, of course, she would be an Uchiha, skilled the way she was and having a connection to Obito it made sense.

Hiruzen shook his head, "No, she is not an Uchiha, as far as anyone knows. Mitsu lives with the Uchiha."

"What?" Minato was surprised, "Why would a non-Uchiha live with the Uchiha? They are infamous for their exclusivity, like the Hyuga."

"Exactly," Hiruzen nodded taking a sip of his tea, "That is why Danzo is interested in Mitsu. You see, Mitsu was a one-year-old when Fugaku Uchiha brought her into the village. Rumors were that he was investigating a murder scene and the only survivor was a child, he did not write up a report, nor did he hand the child over to the proper authorities. Instead, that child has grown up under his care, amongst the Uchiha. The Uchiha are all very protective of that girl, it makes no sense to Danzo. The girl rivals Kakashi Hatake's records, she entered and completed the Academy in record time, she was immediately recruited into the ANBU. She has a style of jutsu all of her own, her intellect is incredible, her use of all the elements extraordinary. It makes you think, if the Uchiha trained this girl, a girl without their Kekkei Genkai maybe they would make excellent Sensei's for the Konoha shinobi and not just police officers."

"Depends on how they trained her, how is she? Mentally?"

Hiruzen smiled brightly, "She is like the stars. She shines bright amongst the darkness of the Uchiha sky. She is full of love and light, it's also why I would prefer her not to go on missions for the ANBU, I don't want that child to lose her light."

"She's a happy, adjusted child?" Minato was surprised.

"Yes, very much so. As much as Danzo pretends to be fascinated by her due to whom she lives amongst, I believe it's the way she shines that interests him. A part of her reminds me of Hashirama Senju, that bright positivity whereas the other of Tobirama my Sensei, the way she is able to be calm and contemplate things. The two of them would have greatly enjoyed her company, I have no doubt about it."

"Why haven't you moved her from ANBU to the active shinobi rank?" Minato was curious, "If you rate her so highly, surely…"

Hiruzen sighed, "I have asked her myself, but she refuses."

"She refuses to move out of the ANBU?" Minato spluttered, it was true the ANBU were the elite, but to be a normal ranked shinobi meant she could one day become Hokage, she could become famous not remain in the shadows.

"Yes, she is a stubborn one. She has no interest in becoming Hokage, ranks don't mean anything to her. She feels as if she is useful as an ANBU operative. I've always thought it had to do with her starlike presence, she is drawn to the darkness, not the light. But I will keep trying, I want that light to shine from the top. It would be nice for Konoha to have their first female Hokage, the time of old men must end."

Minato chuckled, "I know the kunoichi's of this village would rejoice at that."

"That they should, this village was not just made by the men, but also the women that have laid down their lives to forge our paths," Hiruzen said proudly, thinking of all the strong women in his life.

Shisui Uchiha was walking home when three bright lights ran passed him, he knew exactly who it was, they all did, it made him stumble for a moment. The lights were followed by Obito who was angry, the girl shrieked running towards a foreboding man,

"Uncle Fugaku," she cried out and jumped on to his back hiding from Obito, "Obito wants to kill me!"

"She disrespected me, she put a seal on my mouth and threw a twig at me while I was working," Obito glowered at her.

"Is this true?" Fugaku tilted his head to look at the girl, she was wearing a black and grey cheongsam, it was piped red but had no symbol on its back. Her hair hung loose in soft waves down her back, a red bandana kept her fringe out of her eyes, she was a beautiful girl no more than 9 years old.

She innocently played with Fugaku's hair, "Well, I was also working and that big mouth was going to tell everyone who I was…ANBU are supposed to be like the shadow, you aren't supposed to know their name or their face, but he was going to ruin my cover."

"Is that true?" Fugaku narrowed his eyes at Obito who cowered, the only person in the whole Uchiha Quarter who was not afraid of Fugaku was the girl on his back.

"Well, I…she…she was showing off," Obito pointed at her, exasperated, he knew he couldn't win this battle.

"I do not show off," she replied shortly, "I am just amazing."

Fugaku gave her a glance, "Who said you were allowed to get a big head?"

She grinned, "Come on, Uncle Fugaku. It's not my fault that even simple ninjitsu techniques surprise the baby shinobis."

"Even Minato Sensei was surprised by her," Obito scowled.

"Really?" Fugaku looked down at Obito, "Minato Namikaze was surprised by Ria?"

He nodded, "He said he hadn't expected Mitsu to be so young and soo good. She lives up to her reputation. He's actually gone to talk about her to the Hokage."

"Our Ria impressed the Leaf's Yellow Flash?" Fugaku repeated.

Ria rolled her eyes, "Who cares? I wasn't trying to impress anyone, I was doing my job," she didn't care to impress anyone outside of the Uchiha Quarters, stranger accolades meant nothing to her, she only sought the love of the people she cared about.

"You could become Hokage," Fugaku said softly looking at Ria, "If you've already started to impress those people."

"I don't want to be Hokage, anyway, Shisui would be a better Hokage then me," she pointed at Shisui who was still standing there watching, he squeaked pointing at himself as he went red, he hadn't realized that Ria had noticed he was there, "Shisui is super smart and he is super pretty," she smiled at him brightly.

"Hey, I'm going to be Hokage," Obito argued which made Ria snigger,

"I bet Shisui could beat you up right now, you won't ever surpass him. Actually," she looked at Fugaku, "If Shisui doesn't become Hokage, Itachi will."

"Itachi?" Fugaku repeated, "Why do you think that? He's only 3."

"But he has you," she said brightly, "There is no way he won't be a genius and he's pretty."

Obito scowled, "What does being pretty have to do with becoming Hokage?"

"It means he has a good heart, they both shine so brightly, Uncle Fugaku. They are like the stars in the sky," she looked up her eyes sparkled, "That's what I mean when I say they are pretty, to me they are like the stars, like you."

Fugaku smiled lightly, a feat which stunned Obito and Shisui, it was true they rarely ever saw their Clan Leader smile, the only person apart from his wife they had ever seen him smile at was Ria. That girl was truly something.

"You are the brightest star in this world," he told her softly but with deep meaning, "Let's go home, you can tell Itachi and Mikoto all about your mission."

The two left, leaving Obito and Shisui behind. Obito couldn't help but smile making Shisui glance at him, "What happened to your anger?"

He rubbed his neck, "It's true, she was amazing. You should have seen her Shisui, when she fights, the way she just moves…even Stupid Kakashi couldn't do anything but watch her."

Shisui smiled too, "She really is like the stars. She makes me feel happy."

Obito ruffled his hair, "She makes everyone feel happy."

* * *

Mitsu ended up working alongside Team Minato for many missions. She would usually prefer to team up with Obito or Rin, which annoyed Kakashi a little. He didn't understand why she didn't want to work with him, was there something wrong with him. He was starting to feel left out, she had a close relationship with Obito, that was clear from their first meeting, she also developed a strong working relationship with Rin and Minato, but with him there was nothing.

They had stopped by a clearing to take a rest, their mission was over and they were a day away from returning home. Rin and Obito were having an animated conversation whilst Minato and Kakashi put up the defenses, Mitsu was doing a quick perimeter check, Kakashi had sent his ninkin, Pakkun to do the same. The two returned together. Pakkun content in her arms.

Kakashi frowned, "Hey, Pakkun, come here boy."

Mitsu moved away from Kakashi, "No, he's mine now."

He stared at her, "Wait, what?"

She looked down at Pakkun, still wearing her mask, she never took it off during a mission, but they could feel the brightness peeling off of her as she looked at the puppy in her arms, "He's beautiful, he's mine now," Pakkun yapped happily and cuddled against her.

"You can't take my ninkin, he belongs to me, we have a contract," Kakashi pulled out his contract to prove it.

Mitsu scowled, "That's a working relationship, he's now my puppy, aren't you?" She said sweetly to Pakkun who grinned,

"Yes!"

"What?" Kakashi stuttered, "Pakkun you can't ditch me?"

Pakkun whined, "But she's soo perfect, Kakashi. Why can't I have her?"

"You can have me," Mitsu said happily hugging him, "I'll be yours forever."

"You can't steal someone else's dog, it isn't right!"

"I didn't steal anyone," she argued, "It's not fair, why can't I have him?"

"Because he already has an owner," Kakashi snapped at her, "And that person is me," with that he un-summoned Pakkun who disappeared from Ria's hands.

"Uh oh," Obito stood up, they had all turned to watch the interaction between Kakashi and Ria, when Kakashi sent Pakkun away Obito knew he had crossed a line.

Ria kicked Kakashi making him fall on to the floor clutching his leg in pain, she was so quick and swift, "You are a jerk," she cried out at him, her voice broke and she stormed off away from everyone. Rin hurried to Kakashi's side to check his leg, "She's crying?" Kakashi was stunned, he had seen the tears fall from her eyes.

Obito sat beside Kakashi shaking his head, "You are in big trouble Kakashi Hatake, I would sleep with both eyes open for the rest of your life if I was you."

"What?" Kakashi snapped at him, "It's not my fault…"

"No one makes Rizzie cry and gets away with it…" he sighed flicking Kakashi, "You are a jerk."

"She was stealing my dog!" He scowled, "Pakkun is mine."

"She wouldn't have stolen him, she just wanted to play with him. She loves dogs, but she can't have one, not where she lives…and you, you selfish jerk couldn't even let her play with your ninkin for even a few minutes?" Obito's eyes were filled with disappointment.

"She said she was taking him!"

"Kakashi," Rin had the same disappointment in her eyes, "She was only joking, she would never ever have taken your dog from you. She's not like that and now you've hurt her feelings."

"What? But she…"

"She might be a ninja," Minato joined in, all their faces mirrored one another making Kakashi gulp, "But she is also still a kid. You didn't need to be so harsh."

Ria didn't talk to anyone as they ate, she took her food and went and sat as far as possible from them, in the dark. Seeing her depressed made everyone glower at Kakashi. Finally, he sighed he bit his thumb and pointed towards Ria not saying a word, the ninkin all knew what he wanted, they ran over to Ria surrounding her.

"Pakkun!" She cried out happily, they all heard the yaps and purrs as Ria giggled and played with all of the puppies, Kakashi just scowled. Even his dogs got to have a relationship with her, all he did was make her cry. It made everyone else smile to see Ria so happy with the ninkin, they glanced over to watch her, she had such an excitable aura around her. It was like a little girl at Christmas. Kakashi refused to watch but that didn't mean he couldn't feel or hear what was going on, he was surprised that all his ninkin had fallen for her. They were enjoying her company, none of them had ever sounded that happy around him. It made his heart hurt a little. Why did the dogs he singlehandedly reared from birth become so attached to a stranger? Would they prefer to be her ninkin?" He had no idea what they were thinking. Instead, his heart just hurt.

* * *

Kakashi was grooming all his ninkin, washing their clothes and checking their health, he was very diligent about them, Biscuit was the first to ask him, "Do you know where she is?"

"She?" Kakashi looked at the pup.

"The star," Pakkun breathed, "Where is our Star?"

"Oh, Mitsu," Kakashi mumbled, sadness filled his eyes, "Do you boys like her?"

They all nodded, then sighed falling to the floor with bright eyes, "She smells wonderful."

"Would you rather be her ninkin?" He asked sadly, his eyes lowered.

They all stood up at attention, "We would never leave your side Kakashi, you are our master. Ninkin are loyal to the day they die."

Pakkun nudged Kakashi, he didn't like seeing him sad, "You are our master Kakashi, don't ever think about abandoning us."

"But you seem to like her so much, you were happy with her," he pointed out.

The sighed and fell back down again as if drugged, "She was perfect."

He scowled, "See, you never talk about me like that, just her."

Pakkun smiled at Kakashi, "She is so bright and good. We like her, but we wouldn't leave you for anyone…"

Biscuit piped up, "Why don't you marry her?"

All the dogs perked up at that suggestion, "Yes, marry her Kakashi. Then she will be our master too, and we will be with you both, we could smell her all the time…"

Kakashi went bright red squeaking, "You want me to marry her?"

They nodded in synch, Pakkun put his paw on Kakashi's knee, "You are going to have to work on your social skills, don't fail us we believe in you, make that beautiful star ours."

"I'm not going to marry her, I don't even know her."

"What do you need to know?" Bull asked him.

"Yeah," Urushi was confused too, "She's beautiful, warm, loving, she has a wonderful laugh and her scent," again they all sighed falling to the ground remembering the way she was, "You are both a similar age too."

"You can tell that?" Kakashi was surprised he knew nothing about Mitsu.

Shiba nodded, "Yes, she is 2 years younger than you Kakashi. We can smell it."

"What else do you know?" Kakashi was curious.

"She is very strong, she didn't use more than 10% of her chakra when she worked with you all," Akino added.

"She is very gentle too," Guroko pointed out, "The way she played with us, her hands were so soft and comforting," he purred at the memory.

"She has a strong Will of Fire inside her," Pakkun jumped on to Bull's head so he could look at Kakashi at his eye level, "She truly cares about her comrades and protecting them."

"She would make a great mother," Uhei grinned.

Kakashi reddened again, "What makes you think that?"

"The way she held us," they said in unison agreeing with Uhei who explained, "She has a mother's touch. There is so much love inside her, she would make you very happy, so...marry her Kakashi."

"Kakashi and our Star," Pakkun said brightly, "Their children!" He breathed, they all howled in happiness.

"What?" He squeaked, "Why are you all already planning our wedding and our children? I don't know her, she doesn't know me and I don't think we would ever…"

"This is your mission," Pakkun said sternly to Kakashi, all the ninkin got serious, "If you want us to be truly happy, you will marry our Star and you will have lots of little Stars for us to protect and love."

"You are all crazy, you've forgotten that there is another person in this fairy tale of yours and that person is not in the slightest bit interested in me. Not that I'm interested in her either."

"Get interested and get her interested," they snapped at him.

"You can't force love," he argued, "Anyway, I'm not the loving type. I'm going to be the eternal bachelor," he laughed at that as his ninkin growled and playfully attacked him.

* * *

Kakashi sat in his hospital ward, his hands in his lap. Everything was dark, his energy low. He was waiting for it to happen, for the Uchiha to come for his eye. He knew they would not be happy with Obito's decision to have his eye to be put into him. He would accept their decision. That's why he waited. He had lost a friend, a comrade. They had fought and fought over the years, but that didn't mean Kakashi didn't care. Obito was still his teammate, he was still a big part of his life and he did like him. To think he would never see his face again…it broke his heart.

Just then she arrived, landing neatly on his bed, she was crouched down facing him with her ANBU uniform on. She reached out towards him and then, much to his surprise she brushed his tears away, "Shinobi don't cry," her voice was so gentle, so warm he hadn't realized that tears had fallen from his eyes, but now he couldn't stop them.

"Hey, hey, don't cry Kakashi," she hugged him deepening his surprise but making him cry harder,

"I lost him, I lost him," he repeated.

"You didn't lose anyone…this is just the curse of our lives as shinobi, but we are comrades and we will all protect one another with our lives. Obito," her voice cracked but she kept strong, for him, "Obito protected his team, he did his job as a shinobi of the leaf. Please don't be sad that he was our hero."

"He's gone, he's gone," Kakashi's cries were muffled by her chest as she held him tightly, she did her best to soothe him one hand in his hair the other rubbing his back.

"He's not gone, you are here aren't you, you are here and Rin is here and you will carry his will in your heart, he lives through you both. He will never truly be gone if we keep him in our hearts," she took his hand cutting his thumb lightly so she could get some blood and then forcing him into calling his ninkin. She knew he needed them, he needed everyone right now.

"Boss," they whispered in pain.

"Look Kakashi, you have so many amazing, beautiful friends you will never be alone," she gestured for them to all jump on to the bed, they surrounded the two of them, all pained to see Kakashi hurt. He held on to Ria not wanting to let go of her, "Just take it, just take his eye…You don't have to say these things…"

Ria pulled him back and held his face in her hands, "Stupid Kakashi, no one is taking your eye and it is yours. Obito gave it to you, no one, and I mean no one has the right to change his will."

"Why did you come here?" He asked her, "If you aren't here to take his eye."

She brushed the tears away again, "I just came to see if you were okay. The Sharingan isn't an easy thing to have even for the Uchiha. It puts a lot of strain on your chakra, I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Just take it," he cried out at her, "I don't want this burden."

She snapped at him, "It's your responsibility, this belongs to you now and you better look after it. This way Obito gets to see the world through you, so stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you even try to get rid of Obito's will I will kill you myself."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled his lip trembling.

"It's okay, Kakashi," she said softly again, "It's okay, things will get better. Trust me."

* * *

Kakashi didn't see Ria for a few months. He had a feeling she was avoiding being around him, he had cried like a child in front of her, she was probably disgusted by his sniveling. He was being dragged by Minato, Rin, Kushina, and Gai to an onsen on the outskirts of the village. They were going to have a break together as a team. He didn't want to go, he didn't feel like he deserved a break. It felt wrong to go on a break when Obito wasn't with them. He would have loved the onsen. Seeing Rin in a yukata. He had to force those thoughts out of his head as he entered the soothing waters with his sensei and Gai. He lay by the window lazily with Pakkun sleeping on his chest as he read a book, their room was being set up for dinner. He was so absorbed with his book that he didn't notice what was going on around him, Pakkun woke up with a start, his nose twitched and then he howled making Kakashi put his book down and look at him, "What's wrong?" Without explanation Pakkun ran off of Kakashi's chest, he sat up and then turned a deep red when he saw the person his dog had run to.

"So you finally made it," Minato smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, I was late," she replied brightly at Minato, "I was just finishing a mission."

"It went well?" He asked her.

"Of course," she grinned, she turned and her eyes brightened when she saw Pakkun, "Pakkun," he leaped into her arms licking her face greedily, "My Star," he replied, she giggled at that,

"My name isn't Star," she corrected him, "It's Ria."

Kakashi was stunned. He hadn't taken a breath since the moment he had laid eyes on her. So, this is what she looked like. Under that mask. There was no way you could tell by the way she stood right there beside Kushina and Rin, that this girl was the infamous Mitsu of the Leaf. She was slender, fitting her yukata perfectly, she stood straight and with a gentle grace about her. Her skin was kissed by the sun, smooth and glowing, her lips were soft and red, her nose small, her cheeks high and her eyes bright and a chocolate brown which matched her hair. That fell in thick waves down her back, on her head was a bandanna, it kept the soft tendrils of her hair out of her eyes. She was so delicate, so beautiful, he couldn't stop staring.

They all sat down to eat, Kakashi still bright red, he couldn't stop the blushing so he did his best to look elsewhere, it didn't help that he ended up sitting next to her, she passed him some water and then noticed his inflamed cheeks, she poked them feeling the heat, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he squeaked.

She got incredibly close to him and put her hand over his forehead moving his headband to give her access, "You're burning up," his heart was pounding at her touch, he couldn't believe he had held her, he had cried on her, this girl. The one who was touching him now.

Rin leaned over the table sniggering, "I don't think Kakashi is sick, Ria."

"Of course he is, look at him," she argued, her hand still on his head.

"He's just never seen you without your mask," Rin teased making the others fall over laughing.

Ria frowned confused, "Why would that make any difference? I've been around Kakashi many times, he's never gotten sick before."

"He's not sick, he's blushing," Rin pointed out, "Can you blame him? If you touch him less he might be able to breathe."

Ria took her hand off Kakashi, "I'm making him sick? I'm sorry."

Minato ruffled her hair, "It's not your fault, he's just in shock."

"Why would my face make anyone go in to shock? That's never happened before?" Ria was still confused.

"You're all embarrassing," Kakashi stormed off running away from them all, they all laughed at his expense apart from Ria, she didn't like seeing Kakashi run away,

"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, "I'll get him," she ran after Kakashi not listening to the others who tried to get her to let it go. She caught up with him, he was sitting on a rock in the mountains, wanting to be alone so he could settle his nerves. Why had he broken like that? Kakashi knew he wasn't a physical person. If he was bowled over by beauty, then he would have fallen for Rin a long time ago. But he hadn't. There was something else, something that seeing her without her mask did to him. She seemed more real. When she was her ANBU self, she was a shadow, someone who could be seen as imaginary and untouchable. But now, he had seen her face, he had seen her smile, her eyes…she was real. As real as him.

"Hey, Kakashi," Ria sat next to him on the boulder, he tensed, why was she here? Why her? "I'm sorry if me being here makes it difficult for you. I didn't think it would, I'm sorry…I'll leave, you should go and enjoy your break with your team," she jumped off the boulder but he grabbed her hand.

"Don't leave," he said to her softly.

She looked at him surprised that he was holding her hand, it made her tingle not knowing it did the same to him, "What?"

"Don't leave, okay. It's not your fault, I left because of them, not you…"

"But they are teasing you because of me," she pointed out.

He shook his head, "I overreacted. I'm fine now."

"Oh, okay," she nodded, "Are you going to go back now?"

He shook his head, "No, not yet."

"Do you want to be alone?" Her voice was quiet, she wasn't sure what he was thinking or feeling. Usually, Ria was so perceptive of people, she was trained to read actions and expressions, but Kakashi was the one person she couldn't read.

"Stay," he shrugged not moving from his position, she sat back on the rock beside them, neither had yet realized that Kakashi still hadn't let go of her hand. There was silence between them as they just sat there, hand in hand. Kakashi finally spoke, he was racking his brain for something to say, "How come you joined us, today? You never usually do stuff like this?"

She smiled, "Well Rin asked me."

"I haven't seen you in so long," he mumbled, "I thought you were avoiding me."

She shook her head, "No, I've just been on lots and lots of missions. I had a mission with Kushina and she took me to dinner because it was a success that's when Rin asked me to join you all. If I'm not on missions I'm usually training, this is the first time I've been to an onsen."

"Really?" He was surprised, "You never went with your sensei?"

"I never really had a sensei, I joined the ANBU right out of the Academy…I had teammates but no one was my sensei. In the ANBU we don't really hang out in onsens after missions, for us its usually a case of mission, report, go home. Most of the ANBU operatives are much older than me, so I can't really go to bars with them."

"Who trained you then?" Kakashi was curious, "If you never had a sensei?"

She smiled, "Uncle Fugaku mostly, I guess you could call him my sensei but he's more like a father to me than a teacher. I usually just follow my heart, I am very weird if you haven't noticed."

He smiled at that, "I noticed."

She grinned looking up at the stars, "I feel like the stars tell me what to do, I learned by looking up and listening to their words. It's hard to explain, anyway I had to be strong, I had to prove that I was worth saving."

"What?" He stared at her.

She nodded a little sadness in her eyes, "Uncle Fugaku saved me when I was baby, both my parents were dead. I don't know who they were, what they were. All I know is that he and all the other Uchiha have looked after me my whole life. When I was really little some of the Uchiha thought I was a burden, that I was weak and Fugaku should just hand me over to the Leaf. But he refused, he said it didn't matter if I was strong or not. It didn't matter to him, he would protect me. I didn't want him to defend me, I wanted to be able to defend everyone else instead. So, I trained. I watched Fugaku and I would copy him. It would always make him laugh as I would try to use Uchiha jitsu's but I don't have the Sharingan, everything he could do wasn't easy for me…but I succeeded," her eyes brightened remembering the first time she successfully copied his techniques, "I remember the way he patted my head when I did the Fireball Jitsu," she touched her hair, "When I finally got one jitsu down, I kept wanting to learn more. I learned my shurikanjitsu from him, how to use kunei, the more I learned things the better I got. I was just being annoying to the other clan members when during a mock battle I developed my star chakra. I don't know if it's something I get from my parents, I have read books and books about the stars and I have never come across any chakra manifestation that can do what mine does. It was the first thing that was truly mine. Uncle Fugaku liked testing my new jitsu so we would train together, he would use his Sharingan and almost always he would win, so I started coming up with techniques to beat him. He told me that my jitsu can't be copied, it's impossible."

"Why? I thought the Sharingan could see all jitsu?" Kakashi was watching her intently.

"I don't use hand signals, I no longer need to for the jitsu's that aren't mine. But the ones that are mine, I never used hand signals, they just came from me…I told you I was weird. All I know is that I can't lose, not in a battle, ever. My life was a gift that was given to me by Uncle Fugaku and I will never, never disrespect that gift he gave me. I'm just going to keep getting stronger, it's why I still train all the time."

"How do you train?"

"I started with Uncle Fugaku but now he trains Itachi because Itachi is going to be the next clan leader. I then trained with the other ANBU operatives but none of them have ever won against me, so now I train with Shisui. We used to play as kids but now we train."

"You are still a kid Ria," Kakashi corrected.

"I know," she grinned, "When I'm not at work or training, I play and pull pranks on people all the time. But…" her voice went serious, "I have people I have to protect so I won't be complacent at all. Anyway I love training with Shisui, he's so strong…he'll be Hokage one day."

"He's stronger than you?" Kakashi looked at her, a little jealousy rising in his voice, he didn't like hearing Ria talk about another boy so highly.

"Definitely, if I look into Shisui's eyes his Mangekyo Sharingan would destroy me, no doubt about it. He has the most powerful eyes ever, I don't think even Madara Uchiha could defeat Shisui. That's where I'm the lucky one, because no matter what happens, I know Shisui would never hurt me, and I could never hurt him."

"How do you train with a person you cannot hope to defeat?" He was confused.

"That's the best person to train with," she said simply, "I'm learning all the time. The basic Sharingan, that's useless against me, I told you, they can't copy my jitsu, so even if they anticipate me it won't matter, I can still attack. The Mangekyo Sharingan is harder, it's the ultimate visual genjitsu, so what makes me weak are these," she gestured at her eyes.

"What? You're going to blind yourself?"

She laughed, "No, don't be silly. I just need to learn how to effectively fight without using my senses, the Mangekyo can completely cut you off of your senses, so that's what Shisui and I, do. It's so hard, but I know, I know I can learn."

"Why, why do you think Shisui will be Hokage, and not you?"

"That's simple, I'm nobody," she answered looking up at the stars.

Kakashi frowned, "What do you mean? Of course your somebody, you are Mitsu of the Leaf."

"Mitsu is just a codename, I'm Ria. Just Ria, no name, no clan…"

"The Uchiha…" he began.

She shook her head, "I love them and they love me, but that doesn't make me one of them. I can never be one of them. Even if I married Shisui, I would never be a true Uchiha. Anyway other than you, Rin, Minato and Kushina, Gai, the Hokage and Lord Danzo no one outside the Uchiha clan even know I exist."

"They know about Mitsu, Mitsu is infamous, like the Sannin or…"

Ria cut him off, "Mitsu is just a ghost. A Hokage is a symbol that brings all the clans together, a person with no clan can't do that. I love everyone in our village, I really do. And I will always protect everyone. But I know, deep down, I don't belong. Everything about me doesn't belong, from my face to my jitsu, I am an alien. Konoha cannot be protected by an alien, they need someone with more presence, and Shisui has that. He is strong and intelligent and he has the Will of Fire just like all the other Hokage. And he is kind, he is so kind Kakashi."

"So are you," Kakashi pointed out.

"If I had a clan, if I had a name, any name, Uchiha, Senju, Hyuga, Inuzuka, Nara, Hatake," Kakashi blushed at hearing her say his, "Any name, I wouldn't be in the ANBU, I'd be a sensei, I'd be a Jonin, I would work so hard to be at the top so I could protect everyone," her eyes sparkled, "And once I am at the top I would make changes."

"Changes?" Kakashi tilted his head, "What changes would you want?"

Ria stood up, still holding Kakashi's hand as she exclaimed excitedly her plans for the future, "First I'll open the Police Force to all shinobi and not just the Uchiha, I would make Uncle Fugaku Head of the ANBU, he would do a much better job than that stupid Lord Danzo, I would stop Gennin entering the battlefield, we aren't ready not that young. The Chunin Exam would become the Chunin Games. I would fight for all the Kage's to come together, to stop this senseless fighting. Konoha was built to be a family, but all the clans have shut their doors, that wasn't what we came together to be, so I'd make them open up and I'd make all our brother and sister villages open up too. All the shinobi countries should be a big family, we should work together, we should share intel and we should forbid inhumane testing and jitsus. All I want, the only reason why I would become the Hokage, is so that everyone could be happy, that's all I want. Happy and safe. We will never be safe or happy if we keep within this cycle of hate and pain."

"I think the village needs you…"

"Shisui believes the same as me, so if I want my dream to come true, I need to make sure he becomes the next Hokage, no matter what. He has everything a great Hokage needs."

"What if something happens to him?"

She fell to the floor, her light diminished immediately, "Don't ever say that. Don't even think about it."

"Ria…"

She covered his mouth there was real fear in her eyes, "Please don't…Uncle Fugaku and Shisui are the two most important people in my life. Uncle Fugaku saved me, and Shisui made me who I am. His happiness is my number one goal, he's lost so much Kakashi and even then he smiles for me. I know, I know deep down, that he will be the one to make my dreams come true, it's the goal we both share. We have wanted the end of shinobi violence ever since we were babies, he had to work to support his parents, he had to watch them die, he had to watch his best friend die, he's had to fight and fight and fight…even then he smiles…I can never be as good as a Hokage as he would be, he's the person I want to follow."

"You really care about him?" Kakashi said sadly, she didn't notice his tone but nodded fervently she pointed at the stars in the sky, "Mitsu Boshi, the three stars, I feel like they are mine, they reflect me. Everyone else sees them as Mother Father Child, but for me, I don't have parents…none that I know anyway. For me, it's Uncle Fugaku, Shisui and…"

"Whose your third star?" Kakashi asked.

She laughed, "I haven't found them yet, maybe it's Pakkun, I do love him."

Kakashi laughed at that, "You'll make all the other boys jealous."

"He was my first love," she said happily, "I can't deny that. All I know is my stars are the one who saved me, the one who keeps me going and I guess the last will be the one I love."

"You don't love anyone?" He asked her curiously.

"I love people," she nodded, "I love many people, but I'm not in love with anyone, I'm only 10 Kakashi," she laughed, "It's too early to be in love with anyone…hopefully, I'll have a long life, maybe I will fall in love with someone, maybe I won't. Who knows?"

"Of course you will find love," he said honestly, he truly believed if anyone was going to find love it was Ria, she deserved it and she had so much of her to give.

She blushed, "It won't be easy to love me, the whole Uchiha Clan would likely kill any boy I try to bring home. Uncle Fugaku says that there is no boy good enough for me, not even an Uchiha boy."

* * *

Gai looked at Rin confused by her actions, "I don't understand."

"Understand what?" Rin asked tilting her head as she looked at Gai.

"Don't you have feelings for Kakashi?" Rin reddened at that but Gai continued, "Even then, you keep pushing Ria towards him."

Rin laughed, "Well that's simple really," she leaned back on her hands looking at the sky with a sparkle in her eyes, "Kakashi likes her."

"What?" Gai choked.

"I noticed it a long time ago. He's always liked her. He acts all cool and standoffish in front of us, but deep down he's still a boy, he still has feelings, and he has really strong ones for her. Kakashi is a good guy," she smiled, "But he is terrible at showing how he feels to people, he usually gets on peoples bad side, he has no tact. His brain moves faster than others and we can't do anything to keep up with him…but she can. She keeps up with him without even trying."

"But you like him," Gai repeated, "Why would you want him to be with someone else?"

"Because I like him, I want him to be happy, and it's been clear to me from the very beginning that he won't ever be happy with me…"

"Rin," Gai cut her off but she shook her head.

"It's not wrong or a bad thing, some people are just not right for each other. I'm not right for him and that's okay. He's my closest friend and I will do anything to see him happy, and Ria, she makes him happy. Can't you just see the two of them together?" She glanced at Gai who nodded, "I can…but Ria…do you think she could like him?"

"I don't know," Rin said sadly, "That's my only issue, pretty much every girl in the village has a thing for Kakashi, apart from her. She has never shown any romantic interest in him whatsoever. I don't know how she feels about him or whether she has even noticed him. It's kind of hard though, most girls you know have fallen for Kakashi's coolness but in front of Ria, he is an absolute dork," Rin giggled, "He either needs to be saved by her or is getting into an argument with her or making her cry."

"Obito was right, he is an idiot," Gai grinned.

Rin nodded, "If Obito was still with us, he would have loved this, I think he would have done everything to make Kakashi learn how to get Ria. It would have been Obito's way to be the leader for once."

"Let's just hope no other boy gets to Ria before Kakashi can grow up and ask her out," Gai chuckled.

"Yeah, lucky for us, most people are unaware of her, or are scared of the Uchiha that are always around her," Rin giggled, "But all we can do is keep making plans to push those two together, give them a chance to get into a relationship. They would make a great team."

"You are a true friend, Rin," Gai said solemnly, "Really, Kakashi is lucky to have you."

"He sure is," she said proudly.

The two-headed off to the fireworks festival, they had asked Ria to join them, hoping that tonight they could stir up some romance between Ria and Kakashi. It was a nighttime event, there would be fireworks, dancers, food, and games, people would be relaxed and wearing yukatas. It was one big party full of love and possibilities. It was a perfect night to foster some magic. Gai stumbled tripping over his feet and nearly right into Ria when he saw her, luckily a boy pulled her back getting in between her and him, "Woah man keep your hands off my wife."

"Wife?" Gai shrieked.

Ria grinned putting her arms around the boys' neck and kissing his cheek, "This is my brightest star, Shisui."

"You have weird looking friends, Ria," Shisui glanced at her.

"Weird looking?" Gai scowled crossing his arms annoyed at Shisui's words, "Who are you calling weird looking?"

"You," he pointed at Gai.

"Be nice Shisui," Ria scolded him gently.

He smiled brightly at her making her glow, "I'm sorry. I just don't like when other boys try to touch you."

"Well that's impossible when I have you with me," she grinned.

"Who's your friend?" Rin asked quietly, her plan getting ruined.

"I'm Shisui Uchiha," Shisui answered, he glanced at Ria taking her hand, "And I'm Ria's future husband."

Ria giggled, "First become Hokage and then I'll say yes."

"Well I have no choice then," he beamed making even Rin blush, he had quite a smile and it was clear he was filled with love for her.

"Woah, this little thing is going to become Hokage?" Gai teased Shisui but instead of riling him up he riled Ria up who glowered at Gai,

"Yeah he is, he's going to be the best Hokage in the village."

"With you beside me, I can do anything," Shisui nodded.

"Let's go and have some fun," Ria turned away still holding Shisui's hand and leaving the two behind them, they stared in shock. Ria had ditched them to be with that young boy. Was she in love with him? They didn't understand. Their hearts fell when they saw Kakashi arrive, their plan for today was completely bust. To get Ria to notice Kakashi, they needed to separate her from Shisui, when he was around she didn't notice anyone, but doing that seemed impossible. They were super close.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

* * *

Ria scowled as she listened to Lord Danzo's words, "Wait, this loser is joining the ANBU?" She cocked her thumb over at Kakashi who stared at her, she thought he was a loser? Shisui sniggered beside her, he loved hearing her berate others.

"Yes," Lord Danzo nodded, "It has been decreed by the Hokage, Kakashi Hatake is now an operative under the ANBU. I expect you to train him."

"I have to train him?" Ria stared at Danzo dumbfounded.

Shisui frowned, "Lord Danzo…"

"I haven't asked for your input," Danzo cut him short, "There is no discussion, it has been decreed and as such it will be done. Kakashi Hatake you will be working under Mitsu."

Ria was in a bad mood, she angrily stormed off followed by a worried Shisui and a reluctant Kakashi, when they entered the locker rooms all the ANBU operatives ran out as Ria began slamming doors. One grabbed Kakashi and pulled him with him, "Newbie, you do not want to be in there when Mitsu is mad."

"Why…what's wrong?" Kakashi was confused.

The boy smiled, "It must be because of you."

The other operatives sighed, "Makes sense."

"Why would I make her mad?" Kakashi was confused.

"You are Kakashi Hatake," one female ANBU operative pointed out.

"Yeah, why is that important?"

"You don't belong in the shadows," an older operative answered darkly, "She was this way when Shisui and Itachi were made ANBU. Mitsu doesn't believe some people should work in the shadows."

"But both the Uchiha are strong…"

"You are too gentle, they are too gentle," the man explained, "Our work…it's not for the gentle, kind-hearted people. Our work is dangerous, it's more life and death than the normal shinobi activities, us ANBU we are nobodies, for Mitsu that isn't the life she thinks is right for everyone. You must mean a great deal to her for her to get this mad."

"I hope she doesn't break my locker," another sighed, "I only just got it fixed."

"Why don't you all just tell her to calm down? She shouldn't react to orders like this?" Kakashi was still confused but also trying to put aside the words the man had said, Ria must care deeply about him.

Itachi Uchiha sniggered from the back, "We may work under Lord Danzo and the Commander, but the ANBU belongs to Mitsu."

"What?" Kakashi frowned more and more but all the operatives seemed to agree, "How does that make sense?"

"She is the strongest, she is who we follow. You haven't been here long Kakashi Hatake, but trust us, the ANBU our strength is her. So yes, when she's angry we let her be angry…because it just proves to us that we are not, nothing, we are not expendable, we are people in her eyes, that one child cares deeply about us all. Our lives matter to her, if we were gone, she would care…no one else in this village knows us or will ever know us like her."

Kakashi saw it then, that glimmer of starlight in all their eyes, that girl, she had managed to tame the ANBU, they protected her, they followed her and respected her. Who was she?

They quietly sneaked back into the locker rooms, Kakashi's surprise deepened when he saw Ria lying on the benches her head on Shisui's lap as he played with her hair whilst she ate a lollipop, "Ah man Shisui you are a legend," the guy who had complained about his locker's state grinned as he went to his perfectly unblemished locker.

They all relaxed as Ria didn't move she just quietly ate her lollipop, Shisui grinned, "Don't worry, guys. I'll protect you."

Itachi made a face and slowly nudged Ria off of the bench and on to the floor, "Someone needs to quit being such a baby…you're going to rot your teeth."

Ria lay on the floor her eyes on Itachi scowling at him, "You're just jealous Shisui likes me more than you."

Shisui chuckled rubbing his neck, "You two are impossible."

Itachi smiled, putting his hand out to Ria and helping her up, "Get off the floor you idiot, we have a mission."

She sat on the bench but lazily relaxed against Shisui who was happy about it, "Ah man but I just got back from 3 back to back missions."

"I'll take it," another operative piped up as he put on his jumper, "I've had a pretty long break. Need to get back out there."

"It's alright Roco," Ria waved her hand, "If I don't do it, the Highness will just find some other crap to get me involved in, anyway I have babysitting to do, too," she gestured at Kakashi, "Could someone show him his locker and give him his uniform," she said off-handed as she took the mission particulars from Itachi.

Kakashi was about to argue with Ria but a man pushed him off to help him get acquainted, "Shut up kid, we told you, this is her domain. Listen to the boss."

"What's all this boss? Boss, boss rubbish? She's not Hokage!" Kakashi struggled annoyed.

"Didn't you know?" The man tilted his head, "Mitsu is the Captain's Captain. She is third in command, so yeah maybe she isn't Hokage but all ANBU Captain's report to her, she's the closest to Hokage here."

"She is the Captain's Captain?"

"Yeah she outranks even Senior Jonin members, that's what happens when you are the star of the ANBU," he explained.

Kakashi was stunned, he had no idea, he knew Ria was talented he had never suspected her to be the Captain's, Captain. That feat was akin to a General in the Army, a rank below the Commander of the Army. Mitsu could legitimately lead a whole battalion. He never knew that about her.

* * *

Gai, flanked by Kurenai and Asuma went to demand answers from Minato, "Why? Why would you transfer Kakashi to the ANBU?"

"He's not ready to be doing missions like that, after Rin…" Kurenai's voice broke, it hurt them all, they had seen the way Kakashi was. The image of him furiously trying to wash his hands clean of blood was burnt into their eyes.

Minato sighed sadly, "I wouldn't have but…"

"Ria," Gai gasped realizing Minato's reasons.

He nodded, whilst Kurenai and Asuma frowned, "What about this Ria?" Neither of them knew her.

"If she wasn't the current Captain of Captain's of the ANBU I wouldn't have sent Kakashi there. Under her command, he might be able to gain a semblance of life again."

"Whose this Ria?" Asuma demanded.

"I believe she's the only person in this world that can help Kakashi smile again. That's what we all want," Minato said softly, "I didn't want to send him ANBU, I don't like the idea of him being in the shadows…" Minato paused and turned, she was sitting there on the windowsill, in her ANBU gear.

"You are an idiot."

Asuma, Kurenai and Gai jumped up, "Hey, that's the Hokage you are talking about."

"I don't care," she snapped, "I'll talk to him however I want if he decides to throw such a responsibility at me without warning me!"

"Kakashi…"

"Needs you all," she scowled under her mask, "One person can't make a difference, it takes a team, a family. You threw him into my world, he has no one there, you've basically abandoned him."

Minato stood up hurt in his eyes, "I didn't abandon him."

"Yes you did," she stood upon the windowsill, "I won't though, if you can't be bothered to care for him and choose to leave it on me, I won't back down, I won't let him fall into the darkness…if this is what it means to be a sensei then I'm glad I never had one," she disappeared leaving Minato to fall into his chair his head in his arms.

"I haven't abandoned him, I just put him with the one person he cares about the most in the world," he mumbled sadness taking over him. He hated this, he hated having to leave it up to Ria, she was right, Kakashi would need everyone's support, but what he needed first was to find a light, and that light was her. She just had no idea how important she was to him.

* * *

Kakashi watched the three of them, they had completed a dangerous S-Class mission in a surprisingly quick timescale. They were taking a break before heading home as it was pretty late at night, Kakashi had to admit, this was definitely the strongest team there ever had been. 5 Sharingans and the power of the Stars. 3 Captains, and a Captain's Captain. It was pretty impressive, considering their age. Ria was lying on the ground next to Shisui whose arm she was resting against as they looked up at the stars, having known her for a long time, Kakashi knew it was Ria's favorite pastime. Stargazing. "There's Uncle Fugaku and you," she pointed at the three stars in a line in the night sky, Shisui grinned at her, "I'll be your third star too!"

She giggled, "Really?"

"Actually," Itachi dropped down beside them, "I'll think you'll find I'm the third star."

"In your dreams Itachi," Shisui punched his shoulder leaning over Ria, "You are in no way good enough for that position."

Itachi rubbed his arm still grinning, "Ria knows I'm the only one right for her."

"Don't let your girlfriend hear you saying that!" Shisui scowled.

"I don't want to die," Ria hit Itachi too.

Itachi laughed, "If its not me, then who? Who will be your third star?"

Ria flipped up from the floor and landed in front of Kakashi, making him blush darkly under his mask, she was on her knees, she put her hands together and pleaded him, "Just once, please."

He realized quickly what she wanted, he sighed and bit his thumb whilst Itachi and Shisui watched on curiously, they were surprised to see Ria go to Kakashi, just then a small pug jumped into Ria's arms, "My third star!" She cried out happily showing him off to Shisui and Itachi who stared annoyed,

"A dog, you chose a dog over me?" Itachi was dumbstruck.

She shook her head, "Not just any dog, my first and only love," she hugged Pakkun tightly going off to play with him leaving the boys alone.

"This is all your fault," Shisui scowled at Itachi, "Why did you have to be so useless a dog beat you?"

Itachi laughed, "It's not my fault, she's a weirdo."

"That's my wife you are talking about," Shisui hit him on the head, "Have some respect."

"I think that dog has more of a chance with her than you do," Itachi pointed out which just made Shisui fight him. They all stopped when they felt that presence. It was a darkness. It chilled all of them to the bone, it was like death. Ria jumped into action taking the forefront of her team when the figure appeared into their eye line.

"Who are you?" She asked, her body was tense, she could sense the power leaking from this man. He was draped in black and white. His expression of sadness.

"I am darkness," he replied softly.

"Stay back," Ria ordered the others.

"No," Kakashi was the first to argue, "This isn't a normal person."

"I said stay back," Ria pushed the three of them back with her starlight chakra, that movement made the man's lip curl,

"My curse lives on."

"What are you?" She demanded, pulling out her katana, she never used it in a fight, it always remained on her back. None of them had ever seen her withdraw it, but here she was taking it out without a single jitsu to test the waters, she knew this person was not someone she could defeat with her usual means.

"I am the reason you exist," the man replied, "Maybe I should take my gift back," he moved towards her but Kakashi, Itachi and Shisui jumped in front of her protecting Ria, eyes flashing a blood-red,

"Don't even think about touching her."

Ria stared at the three, they were trying to protect her, they were facing a foe larger than any they could even think of fighting against, she knew, they knew that, then why?

"Your lives do not interest me," he responded simply, not in the slightest bit perturbed by their offensive stances, he suddenly doubled over, panic set into Ria she grabbed the three and threw them behind her,

"Get down," she screamed as the air changed and with a whoosh of wind, everything in a 50-meter radius died on impact. Luckily Ria had thrown them out of range but had remained stuck in the zone.

"Ria," they cried out landing heavily on the ground, she was cowered down her hands out acting like a barrier, what struck them all were the three lights that had appeared in front of her. Protecting her.

The man looked on and smirked, "Even in death you find a way to irk me…I'm no longer interested…" he turned his back and disappeared. Kakashi was the first to run and land beside Ria catching her as she collapsed into his arms before she closed her eyes completely and utterly drained of chakra, she saw the three lights, she saw what was in them. A tear escaped down her cheek.

"Ria," Shisui ran to her as Kakashi picked her up.

"We need to get her back to the village quick, her chakra is practically gone…whatever that was…it wasn't human," Kakashi took charge, the others nodding as they quickly hurried as fast as they could to the village. All any of them could do was run, they had to run, her life was on the line. If it wasn't for her, the three of them would have been dead.

Neither of them could leave the hospital as Ria was comatose. It was harder for Kakashi as Fugaku was beside her, refusing to leave till she woke up. So, he stayed on the roof, not wanting to leave her presence however far he had to remain.

The whole hospital was on edge, having so many Uchiha breathing down their neck was a lot to handle. Hardly any doctor was comfortable being in Ria's room or treating her. It got to the point when Minato stepped in, his involvement angered Fugaku, he didn't want to have to rely on the help of another to get Ria the care she needed. But without him, she may never have woken.

"Thank you," Fugaku muttered darkly, his eyes on Ria who was now finally sleeping and no longer unconscious. She looked so innocent as she slept, showing her true age.

Minato smiled lightly, "Ria is a shinobi of Konoha, she should receive the correct care. It is her right."

Before either of them could exchange more words Ria suddenly tensed in her sleep and then woke up with a scream, Fugaku grabbed hold of her and pulled her into his arms as she struggled, screaming.

"Hey, hey, Rizzie, it's okay, your safe," Fugaku said in a surprisingly warm tone holding her close to him.

She was shaking uncontrollably, tears falling from her eyes, even Minato was surprised to see her reaction, "Daddy," she whispered, "I saw Daddy."

"What?" Fugaku was surprised to hear those words come out her mouth, she held on to Fugaku.

"Daddy saved me…Daddy…" her voice drifted and she collapsed yet again from the lack of energy, Fugaku comforted her not knowing what else to do.

"Is it possible?" Minato asked, "For Ria to have seen her father?"

Fugaku shook his head, "No, I buried both her parents myself. She must have imagined it. They are definitely gone."

"You know who her parents are, don't you?" Minato looked at Fugaku, it was clear to him that Fugaku was sitting on a secret, whoever Ria's parents were they were important to Fugaku, that importance is what made her dear to him.

"What I know is not of relevance to you, I'd appreciate it if you stay away from my Ria. She is mine to protect and no one else's."

"You shouldn't keep it from her forever, she deserves the truth about her parentage," Minato said softly.

"I know what she needs," Fugaku replied carefully lying Ria back down as he tucked her gently in.

"Let me know if I can ever help," with that Minato bowed respectfully and left. It was late at night when Kakashi sent Pakkun down to Ria, they didn't know that Fugaku was not asleep, he had one eye open as he watched the small dog scurry into Ria's bed and cuddle up against her chest. He was moments from picking him up and throwing him out when Ria's hand went around him, she smiled in her sleep and mumbled, "My Pakkun."

Seeing her smile was enough for Fugaku to pretend he had not noticed the dog at all. He was helping Ria and that was all Fugaku wanted. It was while Ria was on bedrest it happened. The night of the 9 Tails attack. She was too weak to help and was stuck attached to wires. The pain filled her body. She fought with the 4th many times, but that didn't mean she didn't care about him, or Kushina. She loved them both dearly and she knew Kakashi loved them. They were his family. And now he had lost more and she could do nothing to help.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

* * *

Ria glanced at Kakashi, they were on their 50th mission together. It hadn't taken long for Kakashi to make ANBU captain. He like Shisui and Itachi led many teams on their own. But sometimes he would be paired up with Ria. Those missions were always the toughest. But they made an incredible team. Their years of work had made their ability to sense the others moves easy, it had become second nature to them. They barely had to talk anymore, the level of trust was incredible. The only other team that had that level of trust was Ria and Shisui. "It's going to rain," Kakashi stated sensing the movement of the clouds.

She sighed standing up, "We still have miles to cover…what a pain."

"There is a hideout nearby, we could wait out the rain," he suggested.

She nodded, "Beats getting drenched, lead the way, your highness."

He hit her on the head for her teasing as he led her to an old hideout he had long once used under his sensei and his old team, it felt weird to come here. "It's so cold in here," Ria shivered she headed straight to the fireplace using her Fireball jitsu to light it up, needing the heat as her ANBU uniform wasn't the most covered. She pulled off her mask putting it on the side along with her flak jacket and her weapons. Kakashi followed suit, it didn't feel right to be fully armed when they were alone together. He stumbled when he felt her hand, hold his wrist, he looked down to see her scowling at him,

"What did I do?" He always felt like she was telling him off.

"Show me your hand," she demanded.

Confused he did so, sure enough, he was bleeding, he didn't recall getting knicked in the battle they had, "I'm bleeding?"

"Your lack of awareness is a stuff of legends," she made a face and then pushed him down on the bed as she grabbed a medi-pack to deal with his injury.

"It's okay," Kakashi tried to pull his hand from her grasp, "It's barely a scratch, Ria…come on, you don't…"

She looked at him sharply, "You're my teammate and you are hurt…"

"I'm not hurt," he argued.

"I don't care what you think, just let me do this," she snapped, getting irritated with his resistance, "You are so ridiculous sometimes. Can't you see you are important to me?"

Kakashi stared at her, his eyes widened, "What?"

"You are important to me," she stressed the words, "So I don't care how big or small the wound is, I don't want to see you wounded, I don't like it," she finished and stood up not looking at him, "Where are we?"

"This used to be Minato Sensei's old hideout, he has a lot of them over the Fire County. No one knows about them other than me," he said to her softly, still a little shaken by what she had said. He didn't know that she cared about him. He was still not sure in what way she cared about him, she was too hard to read.

"Really," Ria looked about, "He had a lot of weapons," true enough the walls were lined with all sorts of scrolls and weapons.

"Well, he had to be prepared for every eventuality," he told her softly following her around the room, "Whatever a battle might need, he was ready for anything."

"Kakashi," Ria turned to face him, she wasn't expecting him to be so close to her it startled her making her blush, "I'm sorry," she took a step back, for some reason their close proximity threw her off. Seeing the blush on her cheeks made Kakashi blush, he had never seen her blush, it was endearing.

"Yes," he tilted his head waiting for her to ask her question.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…but what was your dad like?"

His body went cold, he wasn't expecting her to ask him something like that, "Why?"

She lowered her eyes, "I never knew mine. He died when I was 1, I think, I'm not even sure about that…I love Uncle Fugaku, but he has always made it clear that he is not my father and does not wish to be like a father to me…It makes me jealous of Itachi and Sasuke…seeing them with Fugaku and Mikoto. Every day I feel like I'm more and more alone. I love them but sometimes that love isn't enough…I'm sorry…if I offended you…I was just curious about what your father was like."

"He was my hero," Kakashi mumbled, "I looked up to him, he was all I had as my mum died when I was born. Everyone always said that he was a legend, the Leaf's White Fang but to me, he was my father, my idol. He was always there for me, he always had a smile for me. It was what made me happy. But…he couldn't handle losing his comrade…he couldn't handle being called a friend killer…so he killed himself…" tears filled Kakashi's eyes, "Now it's all I remember…seeing him dead on the floor…in our home."

"I'm sorry, Kakashi…I didn't mean too…" she hurriedly wiped his tears, "I was being selfish…"

"No," he smiled at her, "It's okay, I need to talk about it, I need to keep remembering who he was before, not what he became."

"He would have been proud of you…" she touched his cheek gently, "You're strong, smart and above all, you have a good heart Kakashi."

He couldn't help but reach out and touch her cheek, "I'm sure your father would have been proud of you too, you are everything any father could have hoped for in their child. You are brave, sweet, strong and your heart, it shines…he is lucky to have had you."

Tears fell from Ria's eyes stunning Kakashi, she smiled through her tears, "Thank you."

"I'm sorry," he panicked, "I didn't mean to make you cry."

She shook her head, "They are happy tears," she hugged him surprising him further.

"You are important to me, Ria, I don't like seeing tears in your eyes, happy or not," he smoothed her hair down.

She looked up at him confused, "I'm important to you?"

He nodded, "You are. You always have been."

She went a bright red, her heartbeat loudly she let go of him and looked away unable to look at him directly, "Wait did I say something wrong?"

"No," she mumbled, "It's just…no one's ever said that to me before…"

Kakashi frowned, "Wait, your stars have never told you that you were important to them?"

She shook her head, "I love them…more than I can ever say…but I…I can't shake this feeling."

"What feeling?"

"That Uncle Fugaku only cares about me because he feels sorry for me if I was anyone else he wouldn't notice me…do not get me wrong, I will never stop loving them, but I'm afraid that one day I will be all alone…I'll have no one…Shisui will get married and have his own family, Itachi and Sasuke will grow up and move away from me….I'll be left alone…"

Kakashi pulled her back to him holding her hand, "You will always have me. No matter what. I won't ever let you be alone."

She was struck by him, she had never noticed how she felt when she was with Kakashi, she felt vulnerable but strong, it was as if she could cry but also she could stand up for herself. It was a weird feeling, she couldn't describe it…Kakashi was a strength to her but he allowed her to be weak. It didn't hurt. With everyone else in her life she had to be strong, she needed to be strong, with him it didn't matter.

"Why do you do this to me?" She asked him softly.

"Do what?"

"Make me feel happy," she answered her voice was a mere whisper.

"I make you feel happy?" He repeated.

She gulped her throat feeling dry, "It scares me…"

"It scares you that I make you feel happy?" he was confused but unable to stop himself from brushing her hair from her face, he had this innate desire to keep touching her.

She nodded, "You make me feel happy, seeing you makes me happy, talking to you makes me happy, being beside you makes me happy, I'm afraid of losing that…of not being able to do the same for you…:"

He smiled at that, "Don't ever worry about that, my whole life you are the one who has only ever truly made me happy."

Ria stared at him, her eyes sparkled as she smiled back at him, "Really?"

He nodded, "Really. I'm in love with you, Ria."

She reached up and kissed him, she was tired of talking, no words could truly describe what she wanted to say so she decided action was her only recourse. "Woah, wait," Kakashi broke them apart making her redden and feel guilty,

"Did I do something…" he didn't let her finish as he moved down his mask and kissed her back this time with nothing in the way of his lips on her. He crushed her against him as he kissed her deeply putting every ounce of passion he had for her into his touch. They fell back gently on to the bed, continuing their actions each moment escalating further and further. Until both collapsed down together breathless, their clothes tossed around the room. They were both blushing pink lying next to each other. Ria glanced at Kakashi, seeing his eye made her giggle and she hugged him, covering her face in his chest.

He was both in shock and completely euphoric, to see her happy with him, it was all he could ever ask for. He never thought he could feel this level of happiness, he had lost so much, but she…she was something that he couldn't deny. Ria was his world.

She leaned up and kissed him sweetly, deepening the rosy blush she smiled at him, as she played with his hair, "You are my final star Kakashi."

"Me?" He repeated his eyes sparkling.

She nodded, "You are mine, forever."

He kissed her for that rolling her under him and making her giggle at his playfulness, "My boys were right."

"Right about what?" She asked him.

"You do smell amazing," he kissed her neck, "It's an addictive scent."

* * *

Ria was sitting by the river, she was alone just watching the water pass by. She didn't know that she was being watched, at that moment she was in her own bubble of nothingness. She was just enjoying the sounds, scents, and sensations of nature. It was calming. Doing the job she did, it was difficult to take a moment to just truly enjoy being alive. Lately that is what she felt the most. Being alive. There was a happiness in her that was pouring out of her. It made her shine brighter than ever.

"You should tell her," an Uchiha stood beside Fugaku, "She would join our fight."

"No," Fugaku said sternly, "Not Ria."

"Why not?" He frowned, "She is strong, incredibly strong if we had her the ANBU could do nothing, there is no way we would lose."

"Ria is not an Uchiha," Fugaku said directly crossing his arms.

"Then what is she?" He demanded, "All these years you have had her here with us, she has spent her whole life with us, she eats, drinks, trains, cries with us. She is one of our own…"

Fugaku stared at his clan member, those words shocked him, "You think of Ria as one of our own?"

The mans' jaw tensed, "Of course I do, we all think that. Don't you? Isn't she anything but family to you?"

"Uchiha is blood," Fugaku said shakily, he had no idea. This whole time he felt that the whole clan agreed on that principle, the Uchiha were a blood clan, there were no fostering relations outside of that clan, doing so was a betrayal. But somehow, that girl had managed to become more to them, she had become a part of them.

"She may not have our blood, but she is family. You may have raised her up yourself, but we also had a hand in it," he said curtly, "She should join our fight, Ria believes in us, she will fight with us."

"No," again Fugaku refused, "Ria will not be bound by our choices, she has her own life to live. Whatever side she falls in, it will always be her choice, I will not burden her. I have a promise to keep and I will keep that promise till the day I die…don't ever think about involving her in clan business again. Ria is not an Uchiha," with that Fugaku walked off not wanting to show the tears that had formed in his eyes for having said that about her.

Ever since he held Ria in his arms he had loved her like his own. Watching that girl grow up without her parents, without the two people who would have adored her, the two that were her own, hurt. When she would watch him train and wanted to be like him, it hurt. He never felt worthy to be a father to her, he never felt like she should care for him the way she did. For him, Ria deserved more than the Uchiha darkness. But her strength, her love was too infectious. She began excelling and his pride in her grew. He began enjoying teaching her, watching her succeed. The day he took her to the Academy was a painful one, signing her up without a surname, seeing her with all the other kids without a clan symbol on her back, watching her fall into the shadows in the ANBU when she firmly belonged in the light. He felt as if it was his fault because she was involved with the Uchiha she had been ostracized, forced to suffer the same disrespect they had. It angered him. Ria never let anything keep her down, she made people notice her, significant people noticed her and praised her. She never turned her back on those that loved her, she always came home, she always smiled for them. The day she protected Itachi, Shisui, and Kakashi from death, that day Fugaku's debt to her increased, she had saved his son, protected him with her life, he could do nothing but watch as his presence yet again made her suffer, the doctors too afraid to touch her. He had to rely on outside influence to save her, he was useless in protecting her, if anything he had made her life difficult. That's why...that's why he refused to have her involved in the Uchiha plan. He couldn't let Ria get hurt or have the burden of becoming a traitor on her hands. If they succeeded he would protect her, if they lost, he would ensure that the world knew she had no involvement.

Fugaku went home after awhile walking around the forest to clear his head. He sat down to eat dinner with his wife and sons, he frowned crossing his arms as he noticed only Mikoto and Itachi were ready, Mikoto smiled noticing Fugaku's tension, "Look behind you."

He turned around and saw Ria tied up by her own chakra string, Sasuke hitting her repeatedly on the head whilst wearing her ANBU mask, her mouth was tied up with a scarf.

"What's going on?"

"I caught Ria," Sasuke said brightly, "She is my prisoner."

"What did she do?" Fugaku asked as Itachi sniggered, Sasuke was only 4 years old, with nowhere near enough strength to even pose a threat to a shinobi like Ria.

"She said she was going to eat me, Daddy," Sasuke said with honest eyes, "Now she can't eat anyone," he turned back and hit her again.

"She needs to eat dinner, like you, do," Fugaku said sternly, but his eyes sparkled, he loved watching Ria play with his sons, it made him happy.

"Prisoners don't eat," Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Actually," Itachi interrupted, "I'll think you find it's a human rights thing, prisoners have to be given food."

"What?" Sasuke scowled.

"It's true," Mikoto nodded, "Isn't it Fugaku? You are the Head of the Shinobi Police, you have many prisoners, you have to feed them right?"

"I do," Fugaku nodded, "Can't starve them."

"Fine," Sasuke pulled Ria behind him as they sat at the table, she was still tied up, he put her mask on his head and then pointed his toy katana at her, "I will let you eat but you better not try to eat me, or you will suffer."

She narrowed her eyes at him, they all watched as Sasuke took some food and lowered the binding on Ria's mouth so she could eat, jokingly she tried to bite him making him shriek and jump back, "Daddy!"

"No eating Sasuke at the table," Fugaku said sternly.

"Fine," Ria answered keeping herself tied up even though she could release herself, "I won't eat him now, everything here looks tastier anyway, thank you for the food Mikoto."

Mikoto smiled, "It's okay."

"Somebody feed me!" Ria moaned Fugaku glanced at Sasuke who was hiding behind Itachi,

"She is your prisoner."

Sighing he went over and using chopsticks fed Ria, there was a sparkle in his eyes too. Ria always played wholeheartedly with Sasuke, she taught him many things but always in a guise of a game which made him happy. They were eating as a family, albeit a mismatched family when Shisui appeared behind Ria, "Sorry Uncle Fugaku, Mikoto, but we have a mission."

"What?" Ria groaned glancing at Shisui, "Again?"

"It's not a big one, a day tops," Shisui began but then frowned, "Were you trying to eat Sasuke again?"

"Yes," Sasuke jumped up and hit Ria on the head again, "She is my prisoner now, so she can't go on a mission."

"Sorry, kid," Shisui ruffled Sasuke's hair, "But you're going to have release this prisoner to me, I promise I'll return her back in the state you have her in, but for now," he took the mask from Sasuke, picking Ria up he threw her over his shoulder as he saluted to Sasuke, "She'll be my prisoner."

Before Sasuke could argue Shisui had stolen Ria, much to Fugaku's annoyance, "He couldn't even let her finish dinner."

"You know Shisui," Mikoto smiled, "Any excuse to spend more time with Ria."

Fugaku tensed, he knew. He could tell that Shisui cared deeply for Ria, he probably loved her but there was something that only Fugaku noticed, Ria did not share the same romantic love that Shisui had for her for him. There was no doubt about it, she cared for him more than anything, he was one of the most important people in her life, but love? No, she hadn't fallen in love with him. He also knew that Shisui knew that fact too, he was keeping himself beside her whilst knowing she might go into someone else's arms. He was afraid of that day, of what it would do to Shisui to see her with someone else. He hoped that day never happened.

Ria and Shisui completed the mission they were on within the allocated time frame, she returned late at night and went straight to bed, exhausted from the travel. Lately, it felt like the missions were getting riskier. It just meant she needed to keep up with her training and also her rest. Fugaku watched from the corner of his eye as Sasuke slipped from his bedroom and went to Ria's, he sighed, there was a storm brewing and he knew his baby was afraid of the lightning. Instead of coming to his parents or even his brother for comfort, if Ria was home, Sasuke would always go to her. It didn't take long for his other son to slip out and do the same thing. Itachi wasn't afraid of lightning, he just loved being with the two of them. Mikoto laughed lightly as she sat beside Fugaku giving him a cup of green tea as she sat beside him, "He fights with her every chance he gets but he loves her all the same."

Fugaku grunted taking the cup and sipping the hot drink, "She needs to take a break, she has been on way too many missions."

Mikoto teased him, "You know you put up such a strong facade but you are such a softy, especially to Ria. She is the ANBU's Captain's Captain, of course, she will be busy."

"She isn't the only operative in ANBU, but it sometimes feels that way…" Fugaku tensed his jaw.

"You are a good man, maybe you should take Ria out somewhere, she would love to spend time with you, you rarely get to see her with your work and hers," Mikoto smiled at him.

"What?" Fugaku looked at his wife.

"Take her out, for dinner. Just her," Mikoto said softly, "You know, for a few years, she was all we had. All your time was spent with her, and she looks up to you. But ever since Itachi and now Sasuke, you haven't trained with her, you've barely had a conversation with her, maybe you should…she is your eldest."

"I'm not her father…"

"Not by blood," Mikoto touched his shoulder, "But her real father isn't here anymore…you are the only one in her life…we all know you love her dearly so let her see that again."

* * *

Ria was training with Shisui. She had blindfolded herself and was listening to loud music to drown out her senses. They fought like this a lot over the years, at first it was hopeless, just blindfolded Ria struggled to fight Shisui, even then she doubled down and deafened herself. It was only the last few months she began to put up a fight. Without her senses, she focused on her heart, the way it beat…the way it sensed things. In her mind everyone was a light, fortunately for her, Shisui was a bright light to her, she was incredibly perceptive to his moves and kept up with her kunei and shurikenjitsu. Fugaku watched in shock, he had no idea Ria had improved this much, she had found a way to prevent being taken by the Mangekyo Sharingan. The two fought intensely, neither holding back. Every time Shisui's hit struck Ria, it made Fugaku tense, but she carried on, just then he joined in fighting her himself alongside Shisui. Ria finally succumbed completely breathless dropping her shuriken, before she could take off her blindfold, Fugaku patted her head making her freeze. She knew that touch. Shisui sat down beside her taking her headphones off, "You're getting better Ria, you kept us both off for a while."

She took her blindfold off, her eyes only on Fugaku, not knowing what to say, the two had not trained in years, it made her feel so small looking up at him. Fugaku put his hand out to help her up,

"You've done good kid, let's go get some food."

"What?" Ria mumbled, confused.

"I'm hungry and you look a mess, let's get something to eat, Shisui, Itachi is looking for you," without waiting for Shisui's response he pulled Ria along behind him, leaving him alone completely surprised as much as Ria was.

They sat having a barbecue together, Ria was a ball full of excitement as she began relaying all her training to Fugaku who listened intently. The way she talked, the way she smiled, everything reminded him of that one person, that person he had made a promise to. Being beside Ria, seeing her having grown up, it made him happy. That tiny little baby was now a teenager. 17 years old.

"I'm boring you aren't I?" Ria said sadly, "I'm sorry," she lowered her head slightly.

"No," Fugaku shook his head, "I like listening to you."

"Really?" Her eyes sparkled, "Can we…can we train together again?"

Fugaku was surprised by that, "You want to train with me?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"What's the point?" Fugaku was confused, "You are already training with Shisui and he has his Mangekyo…he is stronger."

"I always enjoyed training with you, I made all my jitsu when I trained with you," she said brightly, "Don't get me wrong, I love training with Shisui, but it isn't the same."

"If I have time between training Itachi," Fugaku said softly, his neck was red but luckily his shirt saved him from being exposed, he knew Itachi hated training with him, knowing that Ria enjoyed it and wanted it meant a lot to him. He had to admit, he missed training with her himself.

"Okay," Ria said happily, "I won't let you down."

_You've never let me down…_Fugaku wanted to say but wasn't able to. He couldn't get the words out of his mouth. All he could do was nod at her and watch her as she carried on her stories. He could have sat there forever listening to her.

* * *

Ria was waiting outside an onsen, in her arms was Pakkun, Kakashi had asked her to come to this unique hot spring. It was unusual to come to a hot spring, usually, they would sneak to a hideout to spend time together. This time he wanted to do something special. She wasn't wearing her uniform, there was nothing about her that even indicated that she was a shinobi. She was wearing a black and grey cheongsam, shorts underneath and with sandals, her hair fell down her back like always only constrained by her red bandanna. She looked like any other beautiful girl. She sighed when she felt his arms around her, "You are late."

"I went to get this for you," Kakashi presented her with a flower.

She took it but still pouted, "Not good enough…" she turned to face him, he wasn't wearing his uniform either, not even his headband. Instead, he wore a plain one to cover his Sharingan, she was used to seeing his face she reached up and touched his jaw, "What are we doing here?"

"We are having a break," he said brightly.

"I can see that, but why?" She asked him.

"It's my birthday," he tilted his head.

Her eyes widened, "What? Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ria we have been together for years, and you've never once realized that I have a birthday?" He laughed.

She blushed, "Well I don't have one, so I forget others do."

He frowned, "You don't have a birthday?"

"Well Uncle Fugaku doesn't know when I was born, he knew how old I was…what year but not what day…he wanted to celebrate a random day but I told him I didn't care…every day is my birthday."

"You are so sad," Kakashi kissed her forehead, "Well today is my birthday and it's now yours too…we can celebrate together forever."

"Did you get me a present?" she grinned cheekily.

"I did," he nodded, "And it's this trip, I think you'll like it…well, I hope you do."

"It's an onsen, all onsens are the same…why did we come to this one?" She asked as he led her in taking hold of her hand, they had crossed the border and were near the Grass County up in the mountains. It wasn't like Kakashi to cross borderlines. It could get dangerous if other shinobi thought the Leaf had sent invaders.

"This one is special," he said as they entered their room, he covered her eyes and led her to their outdoor natural hot spring, she could feel the heat of the water, it smelt wonderful.

"What are you doing Kakashi?" She made a face at his secretiveness.

"Look up," he tilted her head and uncovered her eyes, she lost her breath. They were so close to the stars, it was as if they could touch them. The night sky was clearer than she had ever seen it, it was stunning. The owner arrived and smiled, "I see you came for our starlight bath. They say the waters here are blessed by the celestial spirits, it can rejuvenate all magic in a person and heal any pain."

"It's beautiful," Ria breathed still stunned.

"I knew you would like it," Kakashi grinned. Reluctantly the owner made Ria change into a yukata, it was a black yukata emblazoned with the stars, she shined in it. While she got dressed the owner carried on her story, "My great, great, great grandfather told the story once about how a Celestial Spirit once bathed in these waters. It was here that all the Zodiac have visited in their celestial spirit form to be close to that first spirit who came. They say his power lives in the water. You came at a very opportune time."

"Why?" Ria asked curiously, she loved hearing these stories.

"The water is especially potent when the full moon is out. You and your husband will enjoy it very much, it is clear how much he loves you…you are a lucky woman…"

"Husband?" Ria squeaked her eyes on Kakashi who smiled at her brightly. She was suddenly pushed towards him by the owner making him catch her in his arms,

"Ahh young love, go enjoy the water, we will set up the dinner for you," the owner left them alone.

"Did you tell them you were my husband?" Ria looked up at Kakashi.

He rubbed his neck, "They were very particular that only a married couple could use this room…anyway, you will be my wife one day, right?"

She blushed bright red as she covered her face in his chest unable to look at him, her actions made him laugh, "Come on, let's enjoy this onsen. I'm happy it's just as good as I read."

They got in the water together still holding each other's hand, Ria's eyes were on the sky, she couldn't stop her blush from Kakashi's earlier words but was also instinctively drawn to the sky. It felt like it was all made for her, "Where did you read about this? I thought I'd read every book on the stars."

"I actually found this in one of the second Hokage's books," he said simply.

Ria frowned and broke her gaze to look at Kakashi confused, "Second Hokage?"

He nodded, "Yes, I was doing some research and I found this page. It was about a hot spring connected to the stars, the Second Hokage wrote how he believed that this place was magical…it was weird to read because it felt like poetry, not science, you know the Second Hokage from the school books, he's always been so serious, so direct and methodological but to use words like magic was weird. He wrote this place had been blessed by the stars, war could ravage around it but this place will remain protected, it was heaven."

"It is heaven," she said happily.

"You are my heaven," Kakashi smiled at her and kissed her cheek, making her giggle and splash him for his cheesiness.

After their weekend finished, the two stood hand in hand, Ria kissed him sweetly, "Thank you, that was amazing, it was the best gift I could ever have gotten."

"Let's make it a tradition," he smiled leaning his head against her head, "Every birthday, we will come here."

"Deal," she said excitedly.

"And when we get married," he began… she covered his mouth going red,

"Stop talking about that, you are embarrassing me!"

He laughed hugging her, "Well it's going to happen, you can't prevent it."

"I don't want to prevent it," she closed her eyes holding him, "It's just…the thought…"

He grinned, "Don't worry about it, I'll fight anyone for you…"

"I just want them to love you as I do," she smiled, "You are all important to me."

"They will just have to accept it, I'm not going to ever let go," he hugged her tighter.

Ria and Kakashi both headed to separate missions. She happily skipped to the village gates, that weekend had left her in an incredible mood. Not even a two-month mission could put her down. She stopped skipping when she saw Itachi, he was standing there, blood on his hands, "Itachi, what's wrong?" Then she saw it, his Mangekyo Sharingan and her whole world came crashing down. She grabbed him before he collapsed in her arms, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

* * *

The funeral was a cold, somber affair. Itachi had lost all feeling, he couldn't even look at the photo of Shisui that marked his memorial, he couldn't even look at Ria, she stood beside Fugaku. She hadn't spoken a word since then. It happened then, one moment she was standing the next she collapsed, Fugaku caught her panicking, her collapse came out of nowhere, and then the blood seeped from her mouth, "Ria!" He cried out, the whole clan jumped into overdrive, keeping all the others away from her as Fugaku picked her up in his arms. He had seen it. That mark. The mark he never wanted to see. He ran as fast as he could to the hospital, leaving everyone behind. The whispers flooded through the village, first Shisui Uchiha is murdered, the next Ria collapses. Her collapse made Lord Danzo demand that the Uchiha hand over Ria, he argued for days with the Hokage,

"They are poisoning her! They are destroying that child, and you are just watching?"

"I cannot remove an adult, Ria is her own person, she is 20, not 2," the Hokage answered, "I cannot decide where she lives."

"She is not theirs either, you saw her…if that wasn't poison what was it?" Lord Danzo darkened, "She is the star of the ANBU we cannot lose her like this."

"You have no proof it was poison," Saratobi said softly, "I doubt the Uchiha would do that to her. If they wanted her dead they had plenty of chances when she was younger and much easier to kill."

"Now she is a threat, she can fight against them," Danzo argued, "That's why…they probably never expected her to become so strong."

"If Ria needs protection she will get protection, but right now there is no proof she was poisoned or that the Uchiha are behind it. I will not vilify a clan on a rumor…right now they are hurting, they have lost one of their own and another is in critical condition."

"Ria is not an Uchiha," Danzo snapped, his anger not lessening in the slightest.

* * *

Fugaku held on to Ria's hand as she lay attached to many wires, he couldn't let go, she was in so much pain. He could feel it. And now that mark…the mark on her arm…it had arrived. He couldn't let her go, not like this. Mikoto was in tears, Sasuke clinging on to her, Itachi quiet in the corner, he couldn't breathe. Ria looked so weak.

"Why won't she wake up?" Fugaku demanded from the doctor who squeaked.

Shaking he answered, "It's a form of PTSD…her body is in shock."

"Shock?" Mikoto whispered.

"It seems that the news of Shisui Uchiha…he must have been important to her…it's shut her body down…the pain was far too overwhelming…" the doctor explained, "There isn't much medicine can do for her."

Itachi left the hospital room, he couldn't handle it anymore. She shouldn't be there, she shouldn't be the one lying there, she shouldn't be in this pain. Before he got down the corridor, alarms were alerted throughout the hospital, he turned to see the doctors running to Ria's room, they began pulling her bed towards the emergency room. A doctor on the top of her trying to resuscitate her as Fugaku ran beside them, still holding Ria's hand and calling her name. She had gone into cardiac arrest. The doctors finally had to push Fugaku out of the way as they headed into surgery, they wouldn't communicate anymore as they focused on Ria. Fugaku didn't leave her side, when she returned to her room, still unconscious he stayed by her, holding her hand. The mark was gone. It made him sigh a sense of relief. She was going to be safe. A doctor came in and stood beside Ria checking her vitals, "I am sure she will recover."

"She is strong."

"But I am sorry," the doctor hung his head.

"Sorry?" Fugaku tensed looking at him, "Sorry about what? She is going to be okay right?" He panicked.

"She will be fine, I'm sure she will be up to her old strength fairly soon, but…"

"But what? Spill it, doctor!" Fugaku demanded.

"We weren't able to save the other," he said softly.

"What?" Fugaku stared at him, his voice a whisper.

"She was 2 months pregnant. I am not sure she was aware of it herself, but the trauma she received has caused her miscarriage. It is our belief as doctors that she must not be told about this, her mental state is not strong enough to handle this information and may cause psychosis."

"She was pregnant?" Fugaku mumbled.

"Yes," he nodded, "We cannot be sure who the father is…but she was pregnant."

Fugaku had no idea, he never knew that Ria was seeing someone, that she had someone in her life…that information made him angry, beyond angry, he was furious. Here she lay, heartbroken and in pain, the person who caused this was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't stand this village anymore.

* * *

Ria's eyes opened suddenly. She was alone in the dark hospital room. She could feel it, that pain in her heart. Something had happened. She pulled herself up, her whole being was screaming in pain but she pushed through taking off the wires that connected her to monitors, as she did so it alerted the nurses who hurried into her room believing she had coded.

"What are you doing?" They cried out as Ria fell out of bed, they tried to put her back in but she pushed them away with incredible strength,

"Stay away from me…I have to go…" she managed to fall out the window making the nurses scream as they ran to see if she was okay, she got up, bleeding and having broken her foot, she carried on moving forwards. They all hurried alerting the authorities but she wouldn't stop, anyone who tried to stop her she defeated even as injured as she was. She finally made it to the Uchiha Quarters, she saw it then, Itachi surrounded by the bodies, Sasuke stunned into his Mangekyo Sharingan, Ria ran and pulled Sasuke into her arms covering his eyes and holding him tight, "Don't look Sasuke, don't look," she repeated as he collapsed in her arms.

Itachi tensed he wasn't expecting to see Ria, "You shouldn't have come here, you don't belong," he pulled out his katana, his hands wavered.

"You won't touch him, kill me if you need to but don't you dare touch Sasuke," she screamed at Itachi, he got ready to attack her when his sword was stopped. He looked up to see who stopped it and his blood ran cold. That smile. It broke his heart. He sheathed his sword and turned his back on the two of them, "I'll let him live, maybe he will be strong enough to beat me one day, but I doubt it," with that he left them, tears slipping from his eyes.

All the pain in Ria flooded out of her, she screamed and as she screamed it happened. The whole village looked up in shock as it rained starlight. It was hauntingly beautiful. Kakashi was on his way back from his mission when he saw it, that image made his blood run cold. He could sense Ria's pain, it was her. He ran, faster than he ever could. The only scent that he could register was her, he could taste the blood in the air. He arrived just before the other ANBU members and shinobi. She was crying as she held Sasuke, her pain broke them all. To see her like that…it cursed them all.

* * *

Ria refused to listen to doctors orders, she wouldn't leave Sasuke's side. She wouldn't heal. Every day she waited for him to open his eyes. She just wanted him to open his eyes. The doctors got to a point when they had to involve the Hokage, he stood in Sasuke's room, Ria was asleep beside him holding his hand, her whole body still racked in pain.

"We need her to rest, and she won't if she is beside the boy…" the doctors explained, "She has lost a lot of blood, Lord Hokage."

"She is a stubborn child," the Hokage said softly.

"It's not just stubbornness, he may have been drained off his chakra, but she miscarried a child," the doctor said urgently, "Her body is too weak right now for her to strain it further, she has already drained her chakra, broken her foot and bled more than she should have…"

"I was pregnant," Ria looked at the doctor who gasped he had no idea she was awake.

"Um…uh…"

Her eyes filled with tears, "I lost my baby?"

"Ria," the Hokage went over to her but she flinched letting go of Sasuke's hand.

"Am I cursed?" She whispered, "First daddy and mummy, Shisui's parents, Obito, Rin, Minato and Kushina, Shisui, Fugaku, Mikoto…the whole clan and my baby…everyone is dead…is it me?"

"You are not cursed, child."

"Then why are they all gone..?" she screamed at him, "I can't keep anyone safe…I can't protect anyone."

"Please calm down, you should rest, Sasuke will need you…" The Hokage tried to assure her.

"No," she backed away, "No, no, no, no," shaking her head, "I stole his happiness…they are all dead because of me…I'm cursed…I can't protect him, I'll only end up killing him."

"Ria please…" the Hokage could see the turmoil in her eyes before he could do anything she vanished.

"She's not going to survive, not in the state she is in!" The doctors panicked.

Saratobi nodded, he ordered all the shinobi in the village that were currently not on assignment to find Ria…a day went by, two, three, a week, a month, a year…no one could find even a shed of hope to where she could have gone. It was as if she no longer existed. Her absence broke Kakashi completely. Seeing his emptiness, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma petitioned to have him removed from the ANBU corps and returned to the Jonin ranks.

Nothing mattered to him anymore.

Everything he put his heart in to…he lost.


End file.
